The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-07-22
UTAH AS A STATE.
An Arizona Journal Hits the Right
Key.

The people of Utah have called q
convention to frame State Constitu-
ton which is denounced By the God and
morality press as an attempt on the
part of the Mormon church to eYade
the Congressional laws bearing upon
bigamy and polygamy. 1t. should be
remembered that all members of the
Convention are monogamists and have
taken the oath prescribed by the Ed
munds-Tucker bill to obey the laws of
Congress in respect to polygsmy. The
Convention has been criticised because
it has Incorporated into the Coustita-
ton Section II of Article Is abolishing
polygamy as follows:
Sec. IL -Bigamy and polygamy be-
ing considered incompatible with a re-
publican form of government, each Of
them is hereby forbidden and declared
violate this section s0all, on conviction
thereof, be punished with a fine OF not
more than 81 900 and by imprisonment
for term of not less than six months
nor more than three years, in the dis
erection of the court. This section shall
be construed as operative without the
aid of legislation, and the offenses pro-
hibited by this section shall not be bar
red by any statute of limitation within
three years after the commission of the
offense; nor shall the power of pardon
extend thereto until such pardon shall
be approved by the President of the
! United States.
And also in Article 16, on amend
ments, the following in relation to tht
section just quoted is added to the frs
section:
Provided, This Section IL of Article
Is shall not be amended, revised or IL
any way changed until any amendment
revision or change as proposed shall, il
addition to the requirements of the pro
visions of this article, be reported to TIT
Congress of the United States and shall
be by Congress approved and ratified
and such approval and ratification bt
proclaimed by the President of the
United States, and if not so ratified anc
proclaimed said section shall remain
perpetual.
The Convention in adopting the abovt
have taken a bold stand against poly
gamy and, what is more unusual still
have declared that the State shall have
no power to make any revision o.
change in the organic law bearing upon
this question without the consent o
Congress, prohibiting the Governor o
the State from extending pardon pre-
rogative to any polygamist, unless b.
and with the consent and approval o
the President of the United States.
In other words, as the Gazette under
stands the position, the Utah Conven
ton in framing their State Constitatio
propose to delegate to Congress tn
supervision and control of all question
touching polygamy, making it part {
their organic law that all infraction
shall be punishable by fine and i'm
prisonment and that the articles bear
ing upon this subject shall be unchange
unless by and with the consent of Con
gress, which. as we regard it, is Vlrtua
surrender, absolute and entire, of tn
control of all questions touching poly
gamy to the Federal government.
We are free to say that this is move
precedent in a State Constitution an
was probably suggested by the action @
the Forty ninth Congress in refusing
admission to the Territory of Montan
because the Constitution on which sh
adopted did not prohibit polygamy
While the Gazette believes it would b
much better to adopt an amendment t
the Constitution of the United State
prohibiting polygamy in all the State:
yet under this section of the propose
Constitution of Utah, if adopted by ii
people, the governments and courts Q
the United States would have the poWe
to enforce the law against polygamy
which is all the people of this countr
will ask. The Territory of Utah, con
tanning thrifty population of over 300
600 are entitled to admission into til
Union when they have satisfied Con
gress that there is no danger to be ap
pretended from this cause. And tn
adoption of the articles above quoted
coupled with another which declare
that the common schools shall be fire
from all sectarian or ecclesiastical con
!. troll. is evidence to US that the Conven
ton is in line with modern though
upon the subject of poiygamy and
inclined in good faith to do nothing
annul Congressional legislation upo
the authorizations Gazette.
Honesty's Dividend.